Leopard Stripes
by Hollow Mashiro
Summary: Bleach/Anima crossover. Izumi Iwate is a Anima. When she appears in Karakura Town, she discovers the Shinigami and swears to help defeat Aizen. When she becomes a Shinigami, she turns Ichigo's life upsidedown. Anima defined inside. No pairings.
1. Where the Heck am I?

**Disclaimer**: I do not own +Anima or Bleach.

For those of you who don't know, an +Anima is a person with animal-like characteristics which they are able to activate at will. Each +Anima has a unique marking to show that they are an +Anima. Sailand and Astaria (these countries are very primative) are where they originate from.

***Note: This chapter is set during the Substitute arc and before the Soul Society arc.

* * *

Chapter 1—Where the Heck am I?

The full moon sparkled on the clear water and a cool breeze ruffled the treetops. The scent of flowers was in the air. The temperature was neither hot nor cold, and there were very few fluffy clouds in the sky. The silence of the night was undisturbed by nocturnal animals. It was a peaceful spring night.

A scream tore though that peace. My scream. Why I screamed, I don't know. Maybe it was to break the stifling silence. But I could have easily fought off what was behind me, trying to kill me. I didn't though, because if I stopped to fight, my house and all my belongings would be burned to the ground. If one looked hard enough, one could see torches in the distance. Those torches were coming after me. The men holding those torches carried pitchforks, daggers, and spears; one man even had a sword. They thought I was a monster.

My name is Izumi Iwate. I am a +Anima. This is my story.

I became a +Anima in _unusual_ circumstances. I have an _unusual_ +Anima. I live alone in a little house on a bluff overlooking the sea. If I need anything manmade, I fly ten miles to the nearest village. Yes, you heard me right. _Fly_. The people there aren't superstitious. They welcome the presence of +Anima. So, why are they attacking me?

The answer is simple. My +Anima is unlike anything they've ever seen. Before today, I had been careful to deactivate my +Anima before entering the village. However, today I had been careless and a little girl saw my complete +Anima. The girl told the villagers, who grabbed their weapons and set off to try and kill me. That's actually a fairly normal reaction to my +Anima. It is so different, I am shunned by other +Anima because of it. I have to live in hiding because of it. Still, I love my +Anima. It is powerful. It helps me survive. I would be dead now if it wasn't for my +Anima.

I ripped my mind from my musings. _Stop thinking about your +Anima_, I chided myself. _Right now I need to try to get away from these men without using my +Anima. I don't want to inflame them even more._

I ran for what seemed an eternity before I reached my home. I tore inside and bolted the door. I started gathering up my meager belongings and stuffing them into a large bag I had bought about a week ago. I closed my bag and activated my +Anima. I climbed up the spacious chimney and flew off over the sea.

"There she is!!" The men tried to follow me but they soon quit the pursuit since they didn't have any boats. It didn't matter. I wasn't going back anyway.

I hoped I could find a new home soon.

I flew for hours over the open ocean. It was a good thing my +Anima didn't tire easily.

Suddenly a bright white light engulfed me, and I felt like I was falling very, very quickly. Was I dying? No; the light and falling sensation just as quickly faded. It took me a moment to stabilize myself, since my wings had gone limp when I was engulfed by the light. I looked around and gasped. A long strip of land was on my left. I veered toward it and looked down. I gasped again. I could tell this place was much more advanced than Sailand or Astaria. The buildings looked clean and new and lights were placed on poles to give light. I already liked it.

But… how did I get here? I certainly was far from anything familiar. The shape of the coastline, the technology, and even the foul smelling air were alien to me. My heart began to thump wildly. I was afraid, deathly afraid. And confused. How did I get here? Where was 'here', anyway? And how close was it to Astaria?

I took several deep breaths to calm myself. Even if this place wasn't familiar at all, I would need to learn to fit in. My wings were tired and I probably wouldn't be able to get back to Astaria anytime soon. My excitement began to overtake my panic. I could make a new identity for myself and live here, away from all the vague rumors and terrifying stories about the "demon" +Anima.

_If I'm going to fit in at this place I'm going to need to work hard on learning what the society is like here and how to act and what foods are good and…_My brain was going a million miles an hour and shooting off in all different directions. I think it goes without saying that I adapt to new environments well. But there was one thought that overruled everything: how in the world did I get here?

My survival instincts soon took over. I decided the first things I needed to get were clothes and food. Flying for hours on end makes one hungry. Very hungry. I looked around and saw a girl my age wearing denim pants and a white jacket-thing. No one came running out of their houses to yell that she was dressed like a boy and to get a dress on pronto, so I assumed that these clothes were normal here. I flew to a closed store (at least, it looked like a store) and quickly broke in. When I got inside, I was surprised by the sudden blast of cold air that hit me in the face. It felt very good.

_They must have created a way to manipulate the temperature inside enclosed spaces_, I realized.

I looked around and soon spotted food. I immediately dove over to the food. Some of it was in paper cartons and some fresh fruits and vegetables were displayed on a rack. I quickly deducted that the people here had created a way to keep food fresh over long periods of time. I grabbed one of the paper cartons and read its label: "Chicken stir-fry." I was glad I had gotten the opportunity to learn to read and write back in Astaria. I ripped open the carton and started eating the stir-fry. It was cold, but it was very good. After I had finished I threw the carton into the nearest trash can I could see (I had already figured out what those baskets were for from the rotten smell). Then I started looking at the clothes. I eventually chose some dark blue pants (which the label called "sweatpants"), a white sleeveless shirt (a "tank top"), and a gray jacket-thing called a sweatshirt (what was it with sweat-clothes?!). They were all very comfortable. I discarded my old rags in the trash can, tied my sweatshirt around my waist, and flew out.

_I like these clothes because I can activate my +Anima without worrying about anything getting torn_, I thought happily.

I flew over the town, taking care to stay high enough in the sky to avoid detection. I saw many more stores, as well as the intricate grid of clean buildings that I assumed were houses. Some of the stores were small specialty stores, unlike the large all-purpose one I had stolen from. There were many clothing stores, some restaurants, a couple "electronics" stores (whatever "electronics" were), and was that a bookstore I saw?

The streets were made of a hard gray material that looked very rough. I made a mental note to always wear shoes outside. Many contraptions that looked like streamlined horseless carriages were stationed on the edges of the gray material. I nearly fell out of the sky when I saw one of them moving about, controlled by a person inside.

There was a large park on the outskirts of the town. The air was cleaner there, and the lighting was dimmer. Just like Astaria. I noticed a teenage boy who had been walking through the park pull something small out of his pocket and begin fiddling with it. I discreetly landed in a tree near him to get a closer look. It looked like a box with a light-up screen, with small buttons located at the bottom. After pressing a few of them, the boy put the box back in his pocket and continued his journey as if nothing had happened. After the boy was out of view, I took off again, wondering what that small box could have been. Maybe it had been one of those "electronics".

I was having a very pleasant evening until something gruesome caught my eye. A monster with a white mask and a strange bug-like body was attacking a young girl. She seemed translucent and had a severed chain connected to her chest.

_Is she a ghost?_ I wondered. _And what is that hideous monster? Why isn't anyone reacting? Can they not see what's going on? And why can I see it? I've never been able to see ghosts before. Did that light do this? But if they can't see what's going on, then I can't just sit by and watch._

I swooped down and unsheathed my claws. Yes, my claws. You're probably wondering why I have claws on my hands and fully functional wings. There's only one explanation.

I am not a bird +Anima.

I'm not a cat or a bear +Anima either. So, what is my +Anima?

My +Anima is a mythological creature.

My +Anima is that of a leopard with bird-like characteristics. It has lighter bones, a lot more stamina, and soft golden wings. As you may or may not know, a +Anima is created when a person, usually fourteen or younger, is in a life-threatening situation. I needed all my +Anima's characteristics to survive. I was trapped against the edge of a canyon with a rabid bear in front of me, and the canyon's walls were too narrow to open my wings inside but too far apart to jump across (and too slippery to get a good grip on if I had become a lizard +Anima). When I got my +Anima, I slashed at the bear with my claws to give myself an opening to take to the sky.

My entire +Anima consists of wings, claws, fur on my arms and legs, cat's eyes, and cat's ears. My strength and stamina are impressive to begin with, but in my +Anima form they are increased several times over. Since I have a leopard's eyes and ears, my hearing and vision are as good as any feline's.

I shook my head, dispelling thoughts of the past. Saving the girl took top priority right now. I couldn't afford to be distracted with my memories. I ran my claws across the monster's back, causing it to release a blood-curdling howl (causing me to wince in pain as the sound waves crashed against my eardrums) and forget its current quarry. It spun around and lunged at me with more speed and grace than its bulky frame suggested. I made a mad dash into the air to avoid getting killed. Once I had gotten to a safe height, I turned around, my body almost vertical with my head facing downward. I was about to dive in for a second attack, but before I could do anything more, the monster was cut in half and started to evaporate.

Because I could not see who had done that, I sweatdropped and thought, disbelieving, _**HUH?!?**_

I glanced around to see who had killed the monster. I spotted him easily because of his bright orange hair and oversized sword. He seemed to lack in the observation department, though, because he didn't notice me as I cautiously descended for a closer look.

The youth seemed to be 15 or 16 and was wearing what I later learned to be a shihakusho. He had hard brown eyes and a scowl on his face. A girl with black hair and intense purple eyes ran up to him and started talking to him. I swiveled my ears in their direction so I could hear their conversation.

"… job on the Hollow. You actually killed it with one hit this time, Ichigo. Now get back into your body and let's go home."

_What?! "Get back into your body"?! That girl's a maniac!!_

"Ichigo" knew exactly what was happening and grabbed what looked like a corpse on the side of the road.

_Oh my…What the…_

The corpse was an exact replica of Ichigo. Ichigo knelt down beside it and closed his eyes. He glowed for a moment, then seemed to sink back into his body. He opened his eyes and blinked a couple of times, then stood up and started to follow the girl.

Needless to say, I was beyond shocked.

I finally got myself together enough to follow them. They kept talking about hollows (which must've been that strange masked monster), which was odd enough. But I had no brain cells left for shock anymore for a long time when they changed the subject to… school.

Back in Astaria and Sailand, only nobles got an education of any sort. These two didn't look like nobles, unless an education was something that everyone was able to get here. I was very lucky to have learned to read and write, since I had been a commoner when I was younger.

I had been trailing the strange pair on the rooftops. I jumped onto the next roof. Unfortunately, the shingles were very slippery. I cursed and almost lost my balance. The raven-haired girl seemed to be keener than her companion, since she immediately turned toward me and went into a defensive crouch. I slid down the opposite side of the roof, praying she wouldn't locate me.

"Rukia, what's wrong?" Rukia's orange-haired companion's voice carried over the roof.

"… Nothing. Let's go, Ichigo."

_What kind of screwed up place IS this?!_

That was the last time I saw them for months.

* * *

I got the first chapter of this fanfic done! Yay, me! I had this idea for a Bleach/+Anima crossover and was finally able to write it down. My first chapters are always the worst... Any and all reviews are welcome! I will update faster if you do! Please give me ideas!

I will go into how Izumi got to Karakura Town in the next chapter. The next chapter will be set after the Soul Society arc. No Bount arc, sorry for those of you who love the Bounts.

Also... If you liked this fanfic please read and review my other fanfic, Twisted Time and the Shinigami Academy. I need the voice of my readers to figure out how its chapter 4 will be written. Thanks!

Update 2/2/10 - I'm finally back!! I'm redoing some of the story due to my beta-reader, and I am very, VERY grateful to somebody's world for fixing all of the mistakes I had in this story.

-HM


	2. My First Day of School

**Disclaimer**: I do not own +Anima or Bleach. I do own Izumi though…

This chapter is set after the Soul Society arc.

* * *

Chapter 2—My First Day of School

It had been about two to three months since I had last seen Ichigo and Rukia. I had seen plenty of the things they called Hollows, though. I had even managed to kill a few of them.

I was going to start school tomorrow. I was excited and anxious. I had gotten a decent education back in Astaria, but it wasn't in a real school, nor did it scratch the surface of the information the schools here were teaching. I had spent the whole summer learning what all the new technology was here and covering the material I'd need to know to be in my age group in school. I was able to pick up on everything quickly, but I hated math. I rented a house in the Minamikawase district of the place I had come to called Karakura Town. (1)

I had met some of the families near me, like the Kurosaki family and the Arisawa family. I had met Tatsuki when I was walking to the shopping district and we fast became friends. I enjoyed training with her at karate.

On cloudy nights I would open one of the back windows on the second floor of the apartment I had rented (I got the money from local charities and from the occasional stolen wallet) and fly. During those periods of time I would eradicate as many Hollows as I could. I had come to recognize the Hollows' presence, as well as the presence of the old man who usually took care of the Hollows. He had the same powers as Ichigo did that one night months ago, so I hoped I could instantly sense when Ichigo appeared again.

* * *

(Urahara Shoten)

At Urahara Shoten, a certain shopkeeper was getting beaten over the head by Yoruichi. He was going to have a terrible migraine the next morning…

"You and your damn inventions, Urahara! I swear, someday you're going to kill us all!!!" Yoruichi roared, flailing her arms wildly and knocking some items off of the store's shelves. It took several minutes for her to stop ranting and several more minutes to stop her merciless beating of Urahara.

"What's important now is that we find the soul that was transported from an alternate dimension by the Beacon and transport it back home. It's probably miserable, being torn away from family and friends and transported to a strange world," Urahara managed to groan. His head was throbbing horribly.

Unknown to Urahara, the "lost soul" couldn't be happier at that particular moment.

The Beacon was a project Urahara designed to teleport between dimensions. He was hoping it could be used to bring some powerful allies to help with the Aizen problem. He had found out the previous night it had activated almost three months ago and had pulled someone from another dimension to Karakura town. What he didn't know was why it had worked at such a distance. Izumi hadn't materialized anywhere near the Beacon. Yoruichi was livid when she found out the Beacon had activated.

"He or she will probably have a different spiritual pressure from that of normal humans. There haven't been any reports of a deranged maniac running around Karakura, so he or she must be adapting well," Urahara sighed. "That will make the soul that much harder to locate. We don't even know if the soul's human."

"You will find the soul and get it back to where it belongs. This is your mess, so you clean it up." Yoruichi was still fuming at Urahara.

"We'll start searching for the soul as soon as a disturbance is felt in this world's spirit particles. I'll then identify and trace the reiatsu," Urahara had it planned out since he had first discovered the Beacon's activation.

"… Fine. I'll be waiting for fast results, Kisuke. If you haven't found anything in a month, I'll go out and bring the soul here by force," Yoruichi snarled, still angry.

Yoruichi shunpoed out of the Urahara Shoten to who-knows-where. Urahara watched her go, then dropped into bed. His head had started throbbing painfully again.

* * *

(Izumi POV)

Today was my first day of school. I was ecstatic. I had jumped out of bed 30 minutes before my alarm had rung and got ready in (what some other people would call) record time.

I was in class 3-A at Karakura High School. My homeroom teacher was Miss Ochi.

I strode to school with my new bag slung on my back. I walked into the secretary's office, since that was where the new students were directed to their classes. The secretary gave me directions to classroom 3-A and told me to wait outside the classroom until I was invited in. I could hear Miss Ochi's voice floating from inside the room.

"Alright, alright, class, settle down, take your seats… and welcome back! Everyone's present today, right? Oshima and Sorimachi are absent, but that's no big deal since they're a couple of delinquents. I'm positive they're perfectly healthy. Anyway, we have a new transfer student starting today!"

I heard murmurs of excitement from inside the class.

Miss Ochi came to the door and opened it, smiling. "All right, please come in."

I walked through the open door, feeling the eyes of the class on me.

"Your name, please."

"My name is Izumi Iwate. Pleased to meet you. My name means 'rock hand fountain'." (2)

"Alright, Izumi, let's find you a seat."

I scanned the classroom in front of me and immediately noticed Tatsuki, who was sitting near the front. I was disappointed when I discovered there were no free seats near her. In fact, there was only one unoccupied seat that wasn't at the very back of the class. I glanced at the people sitting around it and…

_Oh my gosh. What the heck is Ichigo doing here?! And where's that Rukia he was with that night two months ago?!_

"Uh, Iwate-san, are you okay?" The teacher had noticed my change of expression and stared at me with concern.

I jumped. "Yeah, I'm fine! Really, I'm fine!" I added a couple sheepish laughs after that for effect.

Sensei smiled and said, "If you insist. Why don't you sit next to Kurosaki-kun? There's a free desk next to him."

I nodded and started to walk to my new seat next to Ichigo. I hoped I could inspect him up close. I wanted to know what was so special about him. As I walked toward my new desk, I noted a pair of eyes following my every move. I turned and noticed a black-haired guy with glasses staring at me intently. He had a cross-thing dangling on his wrist and a more intense aura about him than most of the class. I fact, I only noticed four people with an unusually high aura around them. One was Ichigo, another was the black-haired guy I mentioned earlier, and the other two were a huge brown guy near the back and an orange-haired girl near Ichigo. I noticed a few more people with stronger auras than most, but their auras weren't as defined as the other four.

I sat down at my new desk and worked on analyzing Ichigo's aura. It was by far the strongest in the class, and the most complicated, too. It had some of the same feel of the aura of the old guy with the sword, but it also had slight traces of… something else I couldn't quite place. It also had distinct human in it.

"Oi, Iwate-san, did you hear me? Turn to page 265 in your math book!"

I was started out of my reverie for the second time that day. I pulled out my math book and began to work.

* * *

(Uryu POV)

Uryu looked at the new girl for a while. She wasn't anything special physically. She had her shoulder-length raven-colored hair pulled into a spiky ponytail. Her eyes were a light yellow-green, and they showed a myriad of emotions – fear, excitement, and apprehension showed the most. Uryu's focus, however, was centered on something not-so-physical. He could sense her strong reiatsu when she was still in the hallway. He was still trying to figure out what she was. Her reiatsu wasn't that of a Shinigami's or a Quincy's. It wasn't like a spiritually gifted human, like Chad and Orihime, either. And it certainly wasn't that of a Hollow's.

_What is she?!_ Uryu wondered, upset at not being able to recognize her reiatsu at all.

* * *

(Izumi POV)

"Hooray! It's time for lunch!" the orange-haired girl cheered. "C'mon, let's go sit outside! Uryu, Chad, Ichigo, Mizuiro, Keigo, you can come too!" She turned to me and grinned, "Hi, my name is Orihime Inoue. It's nice to meet you… umm… Izumi, right?"

I smiled back and said, "Yeah. It's nice to meet you too." I turned and waved at Tatsuki. "Hey, Tatsuki!"

"Hi, Izumi! Why didn't you tell me you were transferring to this school?" she grinned accusingly.

" 'Cause I wanted to surprise you!"

We all walked outside together. The day was warm and a breeze blew through the trees while the scent of freshly mowed grass permeated the air. Tatsuki was telling me the eccentricities of all the people that came with us.

"Mahana is very straightforward; she also likes figuring out who likes whom. Michiru is very docile and scared of Ichigo. Ryo is quiet, but she's a killer runner. She runs the hundred meter dash in twelve seconds flat. Chizuru is a lesbian. I have to kick her ten times a day to keep her away from Orihime. Orihime is really nice, and she's my best friend, but she's a terrible cook and has the wildest imagination. Uryu is the smartest person in the class, but not all that friendly. Chad looks strong and intimidating, but he never fights for himself. Mizuiro has a thing for older women. Keigo is the class clown. He overreacts to anything and everything. Ichigo has a permanent scowl on his face, but he will do anything to protect his friends, from what I've seen. His name means 'one who protects,' not 'strawberry'. It's a rather touchy subject for him and I wouldn't mention it if I were you."

I tried my best to absorb and remember each person's name and personality. There was so much to remember!

We all went to sit down under a small group of trees. I jumped into a tree and began eating there. I always looked for the highest place to eat my meals, since I was often attacked back in Astaria. Old habits die hard, I guess. From my vantage point in the tree, I could see that most of the boys were slowly meandering towards the trees; most of the girls were already seated below me. I noticed Ichigo near the center of the group of boys, but Ishida hung back a little. I guessed that he was just a bit antisocial.

"Do you like Ichigo and Uryu? You've been staring at the two of them for some time now," a voice said beside me.

I yelped and frantically scrambled away from the voice before I realized it was only Mahana. How she had climbed the tree without making any noise, I don't know.

"Mahana, don't ask awkward questions like that to the new girl! Be polite!" Michiru scolded.

I could tell there was another pair of eyes on me. I looked down and saw a pink-haired girl looking up at me and blushing.

"Would you like to come over to my house on the weekend?" she asked sweetly.

"Chizuru, stop hitting on the new girl!!!" Tatsuki kicked her. Hard. So that was the class lesbian.

"Excellent retort, as always, Tatsuki," Chizuru groaned, clutching her aching back.

"That wasn't a retort; that was a kick!" Tatsuki yelled at her before attacking again. I had to laugh. Chizuru looked so pathetic!

The rest of the lunch period passed in by in relative peace. I was laughing so hard at Keigo's hilarious overreactions and "romantic" (stupid was more like it!) observations. I discovered that Ichigo treated Keigo similarly to how Tatsuki treated Chizuru.

The lunch bell rang. Everyone started to pick up what was left of their lunch. I lingered for a few more moments, not wanting to go back inside. I turned to go back inside and found Uryu looking at me. I was startled. What did he want with me?

His aura started to get stronger until it seemed like it was pressing down on me. I instinctively took a step back and was about to activate my +Anima when he asked, almost accusingly, "You obviously felt my increase in reiatsu just now. I know you can tell who has the most reiatsu, because I saw your gaze lingering on Chad, Orihime, Ichigo, and me. And I know your have special powers of your own, but I can't tell what they are. What are they? And how much do you know about Shinigami and Hollows?"

"Shinigami? As in death god? And Hollows? The monsters I occasionally kill with white masks?" Uryu nodded, looking interested. I continued, my voice rising in volume every word I spoke.

"I've never heard of Shinigami and I don't know what reiatsu is. All I can figure out is the four of you have unusually strong auras around you. And I'm not revealing my special powers to you," I hissed. I turned and stalked away in a bad mood, leaving Uryu bewildered. I could see why people thought he was so unpleasant. It took me while to figure out I revealed that I had "special powers", aka my +Anima. Damn! I wanted to keep my disguise of an average schoolgirl up for as long as possible.

The rest of the day passed by uneventfully. A cloud covered the sun, which meant I could go Hollow hunting tonight. Which was good, because I was still seething mad at Uryu. I wanted to kill something. When the final bell rang, I quickly packed up my books and left. I didn't want Uryu to confront me again.

On the way home, I sensed Uryu behind me. I called out, "I know you're there, Uryu. I don't want to talk right now. Leave me alone!" I started to sprint away. My +Anima made me faster than most humans, even when it wasn't activated. I could tell I had bewildered Uryu for the second time that day.

I got home without any more awkward confrontations. I did my homework, but my mind kept wandering to Uryu's accusations – and the words he had kept using. Shinigami didn't exist. What was 'reiatsu,' anyway? I ate a bowl of instant ramen for dinner and waited for the last streaks of sunlight to disappear from the sky.

* * *

It was nighttime. I activated my +Anima and flew up high, searching for a Hollow's aura and trying to spot the telltale glimmer of a white mask. I spotted one five minutes later.

"Here I go," I murmured to myself. I dived down and confronted the Hollow.

I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary with it. But its aura! It was … different … and much, much stronger! This was going to be a difficult fight.

Before I had gotten to it, it turned to me and cracked a hideous smile. "Why, hello there little one," its voice grated against my eardrums. I shuddered. Its voice sent shivers up my spine.

_But none of that is important now_, I thought, scowling.

I started to inspect it, hoping to find it weak point. My gaze traveled up its arm and to its hand and…

I gasped.

The bloody, dying old-man-with-the-sword was in its grasp.

* * *

The second chapter's done! Yay! And thank you to everyone who's read my story! Now all you have to do is push the button below... You know you want to! I will update faster if you do!

A had soooooooooooo much trouble describing the "auras"... remember Izumi doesn't know what reiatsu is. There still hasn't been a lot of action, but bear with me and please give my story a chance!

1. Minamikawase is one of the 11 districts of Karakura town. I found a map of Karakura Town somewhere... Minanikawase is where Ichigo, Tatsuki, and Chad live.

2. I looked up what Izumi Iwate meant online. I reversed it so the order would be Iwate Izumi, since fountain rock hand makes no sense.

Once again, I would like to ask you (if you haven't already) to vote on the question I have in my other fanfic. Thank you so much for those of you who have!

Update 3/6/10: Thanks to somebody's world for beta reading.

-HM


	3. Anima and Shinigami

**Disclaimer:** I do not own +Anima or Bleach.

* * *

Chapter 3—+Anima and Shinigami

* * *

_**I started to inspect it, hoping to find its weak point. My gaze traveled up its arm and to its hand and…**_

_**I gasped.**_

_**The bloody, dying old-man-with-the-sword was in its grasp.

* * *

**_

I froze. I was paralyzed. If I failed to kill a Hollow, the old-man-with-the-sword was always there to back me up, always there to kill the Hollow if it defeated me. With him gone, I stood no chance.

There was only one thing I could do.

I lunged toward the Hollow's arm, ripped a large gash in it, grabbed the dying man, and hightailed it out of there. I jumped into the heavens. I held the old man close, praying I could save him somehow. After getting a fair distance away, I landed in a grassy field and started to inspect the old man's wounds.

The old-man-with-the-sword had a long, deep, and wide gash on his chest, as well as numerous cuts on his arms and legs. He even had a cut on his left cheek. All his wounds were bleeding profusely.

I started using shredded parts of his uniform to bind his wounds and attempt to stop the blood flow. I had to deactivate my +Anima or I would have given the old man quite a few more scratches. My shoddy bandages eventually worked and the blood flow stopped, though the ground below the man was soaked in his blood. I was scared – the old man's breathing was quite raspy and a drop or two of blood occasionally escaped his lips. I thought he wouldn't wake up, but after what seemed to be an eternity, he stirred.

"Are you all right? Can you tell me what happened? We need to get you to the hospital!" I exclaimed. The field I was in was close to the Kurosaki Clinic. I knew he would be able to get treatment there before going to a big hospital. If the people that were treating him could actually _see_ him, that is.

"Listen… to me…" the old man murmured. "You need… to kill… the Hollow… and I… will—" he broke off, coughing violently. Shudders wracked his mangled frame.

"Save your breath! I'm going to get you to a clinic and everything will be okay," I stammered, trying to be reassuring. (1)

"No." The old man's voice grew stronger, and his glassy gaze fell upon mine. "Listen. I need to tell you… what I have to do and what… you have to do in order… to defeat that thing… I must give you the power… to defeat the Hollow!" Passion filled his pained eyes.

I growled, "Stop talking nonsense. You _will_ live, and you _will_ defeat the Hollow."

The man sighed and murmured, "Listen to me, because I will only say… all of this once…"

I listened in disbelief as the old man told me everything about the Shinigami, the Seireitei, the history of the Soul Society, the threat the Shinigami faced, and finally what he was going to do to give me the power to kill the Hollow. I was skeptical and finally realized this old man was telling a childish dream he had made up in the haze of his pain.

Suddenly, I heard a familiar roaring and heard the heavy footsteps of the approaching Hollow. The old man swung what he called a Zanpakuto at me. I backed away nervously.

I don't know where or how the old man got the strength to yell at me, but yell he did. "If you do not carry out my plan and accept my power we will all end up as this Hollow's food! There is no other way to defeat the Hollow! Nor time to ponder it. Take my Zanpakuto, now!"

The man's voice was so commanding that I took hold of the sword and positioned it over my heart. Before I came to my senses to push it away, the man stabbed me.

Excruciating pain.

Then a feeling of surging strength beyond anything I had ever felt before. This strength was much greater than anything my +Anima could give me. Adrenaline rushed through my body. I felt confident. I knew the old man's story was true. And I knew I could defeat this Hollow. I turned to face it. It had entered the now-bloodstained field the old man and I were in.

The Hollow smirked and was about to say something when I swung at it with the thing I now held in my hand. Before I realized what happened, I had chopped off one of the Hollow's arms and left a deep hole in its side. It screeched loudly.

I looked at my hand. I now held a gigantic sword. I was dressed in what I now knew to be a shihakusho. And I now had overwhelming strength. In the back of my mind I wondered what would happen if I activated my +Anima while using my new Shinigami powers.

I glared at the Hollow. It had now recovered from my chopping off its arm and was glaring back at me with pure hatred in its eyes.

"You Shinigami scum," it hissed. "I will kill you and eat your soul, as well as the soul as the old man behind you!"

It lunged at me. I jumped up high to avoid being skewered by its sharp claws, then swung my blade into its back. It whirled around and sprayed a large purple cloud my way. I spun into the trees to avoid it. I instinctively knew that cloud was poisonous.

The Hollow seemed to have thought it had hit me though, because it gloated, "Feel the pain seep into your bones, Shinigami? The poison I injected into you will leave you paralyzed so I can torture to my heart's content. A Shinigami's screams are music to my ears. I used this method against the old man over there. But even if you still managed to escape my grasp, you would die a slow, painful death anyway." It laughed harshly. "You are dead."

I was livid. This Hollow already had a paralyzed Shinigami, ready to be eaten, ready to be put out of his poisoned misery, but instead had fun watching him suffer more. I called from the trees, trying to keep my cool, "You assume too much, Hollow. Since when did you hit me with that poison of yours?"

The Hollow was so stunned I had dodged his poison it gave me an opening. I jumped again, this time aiming a direct hit for the Hollow's mask. The Hollow saw me coming and dodged. The thing was freaking fast!

I twisted and tried to slash the Hollow in half. "Although your agility and flexibility are very impressive, Shinigami, you're going to have to do better than that if you want to kill me!" it roared. I swear the thing was smiling hideously.

It attacked me with sharp claws then opened its mouth again, presumably to spit its poison at me. I retreated as fast as could.

I glanced back. The Hollow had spat a black cloud instead of a purple cloud at me. I ran faster. My intuition was going into overdrive, warning: STAY AWAY! STAY AWAY!

The black cloud swiped at my toes.

A dreadful feeling of nothingness crept up my leg before _something_ banished the eerie sensation. It didn't matter. As long as I had the strength enough to kill the Hollow, that was enough.

The Hollow was surprised I had withstood the effects of whatever the black cloud should have done. Suddenly, it started to sway and attempt to back away. Apparently creating the black cloud took more energy than creating the toxic purple cloud.

I jumped up high, the moon enhancing my silhouette. I swung my blade down and cut the dumbstruck Hollow in half.

As soon as I killed the Hollow, my adrenaline rush left me. My vision flickered. I swayed and barely managed to stay upright by sticking my sword in the ground. Even in my weakened state, I still felt I needed to help the old man. I was so caught up in my determination to reach the old man I didn't notice Ichigo and Rukia arrive behind me.

"Who are you? Which division are you from?" Rukia demanded, running up to me.

"Help… the old man… please…" I managed to murmur. My vision faded and I fell to the ground, unconscious.

* * *

(Urahara Shoten)

Urahara jumped. His reiatsu-tracing machine had just started to beep wildly.

Urahara quickly reacted and traced the abnormal reiatsu. He then started to create a machine that would easily follow the unique reiatsu signature. It was rather easy to create – the reiatsu was pure, like a Shinigami's, though it had the dark, heavy, animalistic instincts of a Hollow. Perhaps, if the machine worked, Urahara would then be able to find the poor soul that had been sucked into this universe from its home and return it.

Unfortunately for Ichigo, it was the same headband that Urahara had used during Ichigo's training to regain the powers of a Shinigami and it could only be used by him. (2)

Unfortunately for Urahara, Yoruichi decided to visit, and she was not in the mood for bad news…

The bad news being the machine wasn't done and when it was done it was usable only by Ichigo.

Yoruichi shunpoed out of Urahara Shoten, leaving behind a groaning and bruised shopkeeper. He wasn't as badly bruised as before because he actually had some good news for her.

Not a few minutes later, Rukia and Ichigo came pulling a very bloody old man and a young, unconscious Shinigami and her gigai.

Urahara groaned. Today just wasn't his day…

* * *

(Izumi POV)

I woke up sore. My entire body ached. I lay in the bed for a full minute before I remembered the night's events. I shot up, anxious to find out if the old man was okay or not. I wasn't finding out soon, though, because as soon as I sat up my body shrieked in pain. I dropped back down again, panting. I closed my eyes and waited for the pain to subside.

"Careful, there. You shouldn't strain your body. You pulled several muscles during your fight with the Hollow, and I'm pretty sure you didn't realize it at the time." A man's voice echoed from what I thought to be a doorway.

I opened my eyes, sat up again (this time much slower), and looked at the mysterious speaker. He was a middle-aged man, with an odd green-and-white hat on. There were shadows over his intelligent eyes and several bruises on his arms and legs. I was wondering how he got them when the man smiled and spoke up again.

"My name's Kisuke Urahara. It's a pleasure to meet you. What's your name?"

I could tell Urahara was using small talk to try and calm my frayed nerves. It actually helped a little bit.

I swallowed and answered, "Izumi Iwate. What happened to the old man? Is he okay?"

The smile dropped off of Urahara's face. "I'm sorry, Izumi-san, but I'm afraid he's dead."

The world spiraled before me as I swayed and clutched the blanket for support. The word "dead" kept echoing in my mind like a broken record player. I was devastated.

"He was poisoned by the Hollow. On top of that, he was almost fatally wounded. There was nothing that could be done…" Urahara trailed off. There was a long, awkward silence, then Urahara spoke up again.

"Be glad, though. The old man's last wish was for you to kill the Hollow and you did. I'm impressed, too. That thing had eaten twenty full-fledged Shinigami," Urahara said, trying to comfort me. "I was able to get a few words out him before he died. He was very grateful that you had been able to defeat the hollow." (3)

A couple of tears squeezed out from under my now-closed eyelids. I whimpered a couple of times, then lay back down and mercifully fell into the dark embrace of sleep.

* * *

(Urahara's POV)

Urahara walked back out into the store part of his home. He was pondering the young girl, where she came from, and most of all her peculiar body. She had large muscle masses in places they usually would not be, but other muscles weren't as nearly developed as they should be. The muscles in her arms, shoulders, and legs were much larger than a normal human girl's, but her abdominal muscles were surprisingly weak and underdeveloped. (4) Her bones were also quite light, but they were by no means fragile at all.

_It's as if she's built for flying_, Urahara thought. _And what about those strange tattoos on her shoulders? I've never seen anything like them. They certainly aren't natural birthmarks. They look almost like scars of some sort. They aren't Japanese, that's for sure. Could she be the lost soul we're looking for?_

Urahara was so deep in thought he didn't realize Rukia was walking up behind him.

"Hey, Urahara. What are we going to do about that Izumi girl? She's now a Shinigami. And the Shinigami she got her powers from is dead. What will you do about it?"

Ichigo was walking behind her. He wanted to have a say in Izumi's fate as well.

Urahara turned, grinned, and decidedly said, "She's powerful. I can tell her abilities are probably as great as Ichigo's. She'll be a great asset in the war against Aizen. But she's going to need training. And I've you two in charge of her training. Ichigo-san will teach her swordplay and hakuda and Rukia-san will teach her shunpo and kido. Ichigo-san, you need to learn to use kido, so you will be learning kido alongside Izumi-san."

There was a moment of silence, then both Ichigo and Rukia screeched, thunderstruck, "SAY WHAT?!?!?!"

Urahara smirked at their dumbfounded expressions. He knew the burden he had just dumped on the two young Shinigami... and was going to walk away smiling.

* * *

I know, I know, some of the dialogue sounded like it was straight out of a soap opera! But I couldn't think of anything better. Besides, when you think about it, some of the lines in the manga sound just as cheesy… This isn't one of my better chapters… Sorry… Hope the action sequence met with your expectations…

What did the Hollow do to Izumi? Hmmm… I'm not telling you until later!!! *Snickers*

I have fun picking on Urahara, don't I? I pick on him a lot in my other fanfic too…

I know, I know, I killed the old-man-with-the-sword. Sorry for those of you who liked him. Someone had to die in the Hollow attack.

Update 3/6/10: Thank you very much to somebody's world for reading through this and picking out my mistakes. Hopefully it looks better.

1. This sounds so cliché…

2. This is the headband Ichigo used during training before going to the Soul Society. You know, the "Amazing Headband of Justice"?

3. These lines sound cliché AND cheesy…

4. Yes, Izumi's body muscles are meant for flying and 100+ mph running. Izumi worked on strengthening the muscles she would need the most for her +Anima. That's going to cause some problems for Izumi later on…

5. Urahara finally gets his revenge!!

-HM


	4. Deal

**Disclaimer: **I do not own +Anima or Bleach.

* * *

Chapter 4—Deal

I woke up, my head aching. I had had several nightmares about Shinigami and Hollows. In every single one of them, the color red was everywhere. I was pretty sure I had a headache because I had rolled off the mat and onto the floor while I was thrashing around in one of my nightmares. I think I hit my head on a medical supply box. The loud yelling in the background wasn't helping either.

I groaned. I realized after a failed attempt at getting up that I was still sore from the night before.

Wait a moment.

Last night's events crashed into my mind like a tidal wave, sweeping away my thoughts of pain and replacing them with cold, hard sadness. I wept quietly under the covers for a few minutes before falling back into a dreamless sleep. I was so caught up in my depressed thoughts that I didn't realize that I was the subject of the yelling.

* * *

(Urahara's POV)

Urahara had ushered Ichigo and Rukia out of Urahara Shoten before their shocked minds could comprehend what he had said. Unfortunately, the next day they were back, making their entrance clear from Ichigo's colorful language.

"WE ARE NOT TRAINING HER, AND THAT'S FINAL!!!!!" Ichigo roared. He continued ranting like this for a few minutes (with lots of colorful words) before being silenced by Rukia. More specifically, Rukia's fist. She had grown tired of hearing his loud voice in her ear.

Urahara sighed. Ichigo's ranting had given him a headache. "I would'nt be surprised if our young and INJURED guest is having trouble sleeping with all the racket you've caused." He enunciated the word 'injured' to drop the not-so-subtle hint that Ichigo was going to wake up the young Shinigami.

Rukia looked up at Urahara after a while and said, "That was a spur-of-the-moment decision, wasn't it, Urahara?"

Urahara flashed his trademark fan and grinned, "Yep!!"

Several punches and black eyes later, Urahara discussed his musings about the girl's interesting muscle masses.

"Her leg and arm muscles are already quite well developed. She'll need to do lots of ab work, though. Keep that in mind while you're training her."

Ichigo crossed his arms and bit back, "You're acting as if we've already agreed to your request."

Urahara grinned, once again flashing his trademark fan. "You've already agreed, since it was a demand, not a request."

Ichigo glared at him, then sighed and said, "I can't help. I've got training of my own to do. Alone," he added, as he saw Urahara opening his mouth to most likely suggest he could do his training at the Urahara Shoten. After those words, Ichigo left, muttering miscellaneous swear words.

"He took it better than I thought he would," Urahara remarked quietly.

"He took it better because he's tired. He was up until who-knows-when yelling curses at you. When his voice turned hoarse, around midnight, I think, he started muttering various ways to torture you. I couldn't make out much of what he said, but I'm pretty sure it had something to do with Hollows, chainsaws, and Lysol," Rukia said. She noted with satisfaction the pasty shade of white Urahara turned and how he began to mutter various things about heightened security measures.

After recovering significantly, Urahara turned and asked Rukia, "All other things aside, are you willing to train her?"

Rukia shrugged and replied, "I've got nothing else better to do. So, I'll help you. On the condition you buy me one mega-sized Chappy doll, which you hand over free of charge."

"Done."

* * *

(Izumi POV)

I woke up the next day feeling as though I hadn't slept at all. My body hurt all over, and my left leg (1) felt as if it was wrapped in ice. And not the cold, soothing ice, but the burning-hot painful ice. A quick peek at it revealed it to look perfectly normal, albeit a bit paler than my other leg. I sat up slowly, relieved I could sit up without my body protesting violently. I spent the next few minutes leaning against the table that had not been there the day before, savoring the silence. I took that time to ponder my future.

_What do I do now? I have the powers of the old man. I wish I had learnt his name… Do I train with my newfound abilities? What about my +Anima? Has it been affected by this change?_

I had decided the night before during the brief time I was awake that I would stop mourning the old man and always look forward, never back.

I was startled out of my thoughts when a green-clad man (_was it Urahara?_) (2) peeked in on me and said, "Oh good, you're up. Want some breakfast?"

It was then that I realized I was starving and parched, with a need to go to the restroom.

I nodded eagerly, then started trying to stand up, my body protesting loudly the whole time. Urahara watched me with mild interest, then said, "The bathroom's this way. When you're done, you can sit on the mat again. I moved the table so you'd be able to eat in relative comfort."

I croaked out, my voice harsh and grating from weariness, "Thank you very much, Urahara-sama." I would have bowed if I wasn't crippled.

He laughed at this and replied, "Just call me Urahara, or if you're too uncomfortable with that, Urahara-san. Nice manners, though. I know too many people your age who seem to have forgotten the definition of 'courtesy'." His face darkened. He was obviously thinking about someone with terrible manners.

I laughed weakly and thanked him, then hobbled out of the room towards the bathroom. After I was done, I rejoined Urahara at the table he had set up next to my temporary bed. To my mild surprise, a large dark-skinned man was at the table pouring tea and coffee, while a youth with flaming red haired picked on a little girl who had her black hair in pigtails.

Urahara smiled and introduced him to me. "This is my assistant in my store, Tessai. The two children over here are Jinta and Ururu. Hey, Jinta, stop it!"

Breakfast was, for the most part, quiet. I ate several pieces of toast(,) as well as a bowl of porridge and scrambled eggs.

"You sure eat a lot," Tessai remarked as I helped myself to a third helping of scrambled eggs.

"I have a high metabolism," I replied defensively. My voice no longer sounded hoarse.

When I finished, I thanked Urahara and Tessai multiple times before apologizing for how much I ate. Urahara laughed it off lightheartedly before asking me about my family. I flushed before lying that I was an orphan who grew up living life practically on the streets. Although this was partially true, I left out everything about Astaria and Sailand.

I was totally relaxed for the first time in several days. I felt I could trust Urahara and we became very good friends.

I was dead wrong on my first impressions.

* * *

About a week after I had defeated the Hollow, I felt good as new again. When Urahara noticed this, he broached the subject of the beings in the afterlife.

"What?!? You know all about Shinigami and Hollows?!?!" I couldn't hide my utter shock.

"Yep!!" Urahara went into the specifics of the story the old man had told me. He talked about captains, Menos Grande, Arrancar, Vizards… the list of topics seemed endless. Once Urahara had finally gotten through the technical species and rank stuff, he quietly told me the new and improved version of the Aizen dilemma. I listened in shock all the heinous crimes Aizen had committed and his terrible plan with the Hogyoku.

"So let me get this straight. You're saying this Aizen is plotting to take over the world."

Urahara nodded.

"And you're also saying that Captain What's-His-Face… Yamamoto and Ichigo are two of the most powerful Shinigami in existence, next to Aizen himself, but Ichigo needs training to control his untapped power."

Another nod.

"And now you're telling me that my power is right up there with Yama's and Ichigo's and you want me to train?"

"Mm-hm."

"That's really nice…" A vein popped in my forehead. I grabbed the (thankfully clear) table and threw it. "I'M GETTING MY LIFE SCREWED WITH BY PEOPLE I KNOW FOR LESS THAN A WEEK AND YOU EXPECT ME TO GO ALONG QUIETLY WITH IT?! THINK AGAIN, PAL!!!!!"

* * *

On another note, Rukia watched Urahara talk to the Izumi girl from the doorway. She giggled as she realized Izumi's reaction was just like Ichigo's on that fateful night, then realized now was not the best time for any confrontations between herself and Izumi. She snuck off while Urahara and Izumi were otherwise preoccupied.

* * *

I had finally calmed down to the point where I could speak more than furious gibberish. It helped that Urahara had a couple of new bruises and a bloody nose. I snorted to myself when I thought of my first impressions of him. Kind and considerate, my ass!! I couldn't believe I had been worrying about my manners with this guy!!!

I stormed out of the Urahara Shoten, still seething. _Who does he think he is, the little…_I stormed home. My neighbors greeted me politely, but didn't ask any questions as to where I'd been for the last week. They could see the barely-controlled rage on my face and skirted clear of my path. The last time they had seen me this angry was when someone's dog got into my garden I had spent hours working on. The flowers were torn, dung was in several places, and there were several miscellaneous… items… buried among the flowers. Needless to say, my neighbors had steered clear of my house for a week.

* * *

(Urahara Shoten)

While Izumi had been utterly enraged at Urahara, unbeknownst to her, she was raising her reiatsu to frightening levels. Urahara's reiatsu tracing machine went crazy. Urahara, however, was preoccupied in the restroom after a disastrous "remedy" for Urahara's broken nose from Tessai. After emerging from a foul-smelling bathroom, Urahara swore to destroy any medicines offered to him from Tessai.

Tessai, oblivious to this, greeted his friend as usual. Urahara shot him a withering glare before going through the receipts of his recent purchases (3).

"Do you think she'll be back?" Tessai asked after a while.

"She'll be back," Urahara replied confidently without looking up from his work.

* * *

(Izumi POV)

I went to school the next day, tired and sore. I had fought a particularly tough Hollow the night before, and I had no idea how to tap into my new Shinigami powers. I barely scraped by using my +Anima. Although my +Anima was powerful, I never had the formal training to use it properly (4).

I glanced up from the sidewalk. Uryu was walking towards me. Of all the times and places… I quickened my step and strode past him. My bad mood wasn't helped when Chizuru tackled me. I'm surprised she wasn't introduced to my fist earlier.

After school let out, I stormed home, did my homework, ate dinner, took a shower, and went to bed early.

* * *

I was awakened by a roaring in the distance. It was a Hollow's roaring.

_Now, of all the bloody times… It's freaking 3 in the morning!_

Groaning, I got out of bed and activated my +Anima. I flew out me window into the night to confront the Hollow that had so rudely awoken me.

I finished off the Hollow in record time. Maybe it was because I was irritated. Or maybe it was because I kept getting scratched by it since I was so reckless. Anyways, the recklessness paid off, and I had killed yet another Hollow.

_Damn Hollow… Giving me a scratch like that…_

My entire shoulder was bloody from a particularly deep scratch. Later, I was very thankful I had deactivated my +Anima to get a better look at it.

"You look pretty beaten up."

I jumped what must have been ten feet into the air before whirling around and confronting… Urahara.

"Shut up, I don't wanna hear whatever you're gonna say, just leave me alone," I grumbled.

"Izumi…" He was beginning to sound frustrated. But I wasn't listening to whatever Urahara had to say then. The image of the old man smiling had floated up in my unconsciousness, and I knew that he would have wanted me to train to enhance my powers. My heart gave a painful thud, but I knew that I had to honor the old man's memory by improving and preventing any other tragedies like the old man's death from occurring.

"Alright, fine, fine, I'll take your stupid little training, if only because you're annoying the crap out of me and I want you to stop following me like a stalker!" I said in the best annoyed voice I could muster at the moment. I would not let Urahara have the satisfaction that I had agreed to his training entirely willfully and eagerly.

Urahara grinned at this and replied, "Great! We start tomorrow!"

"Next Monday."

"Tomorrow."

"Next Monday."

"Tomorrow."

"Next Friday."

"Deal."

Urahara turned and walked off, leaving me to run home and tend to my wound.

_Why… oh why oh why oh WHY… did I take his offer so rashly?!_

* * *

_I'm glad she did take my offer. I _knew _she'd come. I'd better alert Rukia!_ Urahara thought as he hurried back to the Urahara Shoten, oblivious to the fact he had missed the reiatsu-tracing machine going off.

* * *

I know Rukia's supposed to stay in the Soul Society, but for the purposes of this fanfic she returned with Ichigo.

For all of you FMA otaku out there, Izumi Iwate is NOT named after Izumi Curtis.

(1) I didn't specify which leg got hit with the black cloud. It was the left. Sorry about that.

(2) Give Izumi a break, she learned Urahara's name when she was in emotional distress, injured, and feverish. She's normally very good with names, though…

(3) Even shopkeepers like Urahara need to buy stuff for daily living.

(4) Izumi means like karate or tai kwon do. Claws + karate/tai kwon do + big muscles = scary

Update 3/6/10: Thanks to somebody's world for beta reading this.

-HM


	5. The Cat, the Snow & the Crimson Princess

**Disclaimer: **I do not own +Anima or Bleach.

* * *

Chapter 5—The Cat, the Snow, and the Crimson Princess

All week I avoided Uryu and punched and/or kicked Chizuru. All week I listened attentively in class and did my homework diligently. All week I flew out and demolished all the Hollows in sight (I was getting better at killing them). But time marched on, and before I know it, it was Friday. The day when I entered a living nightmare.

I gathered my things with deliberate slowness and wandered through the halls, looking at any random thing that managed to catch my eye. Anything to slow down the inevitable.

I quickened my step out of habit once I reached the school gate. Usually Uryu would be lying in wait for me there. Today, however, he wasn't. I slowed my pace again and meandered through the streets, glancing at whatever caught my eye. When I ran out of shops to stare at and hit the suburbs, I sped up again. Though I hated to admit it, I was anxious to start.

"Hey."

I jumped what must have been ten feet into the air before whirling around and facing none other than Uryu. How had he known to waylay me here?

* * *

(Uryu POV)

Uryu frowned at the defiant girl in front of him. She had been avoiding him all week and her reiatsu, for some strange reason, had become untraceable. But now, since she was standing before him, he noticed her reiatsu had shifted. It now held hints of Shinigami in it, and the barest trace of… something familiar, yet unidentifiable.

* * *

(Izumi POV)

"Look, Uryu, I have to be somewhere soon, so I don't have time for whatever you want to talk to me for." When I noticed Uryu had turned and was following me, I snapped, "Leave me alone!" I burst into my trademark high-speed-getaway sprint and soon left Uryu in the dust.

* * *

(Urahara POV)

Urahara glanced up from his work. Izumi had entered the store, looking none too happy. Urahara grinned and said, "Welcome back, Izumi-san!!" _I knew she'd come!!_

"Yeah, right," she muttered back, staring at the floor.

* * *

(Izumi POV)

Urahara sighed and retorted, "Look, I know you don't want to be here, but let's just get this over with, okay?"

I ground out, "So what do you want me to do?"

Urahara smiled mysteriously and replied, "Follow me."

My curiosity overcame my reluctance and I followed him to the back of the store. Urahara stopped in front of a ladder leading down to who-knows-what. I peered down cautiously but could see nothing but blackness.

"Alrighty, here we are!" Urahara smiled brightly. I numbly watched him as he jumped down the hole. After a few seconds he called back up for me to follow suit. I climbed down the ladder cautiously, since the bottom of the ladder seemed very far away; Urahara's voice sounded distant. I soon emerged from the blackness and gasped.

Below me stretched a huge training room, filled with boulders and some stubby grass. The ceiling was painted to look like the mid-afternoon sky. Rips and large craters in the ground signified its previous rough use. I was very glad I hadn't jumped like Urahara. From near the top of the ladder, it looked about a mile down to the ground. The training room was just that huge. (1)

I hung to the top of the ladder, trying to overcome my sense of foreboding. Urahara had led me to a place this huge, and it couldn't only be for normal hand-to-hand fighting and some basic swordplay. The big scars in the ground weren't helping my frayed nerves.

I jumped down the last few rungs of the ladder, still glancing around the gigantic room. _Is it even legal to have a basement this huge without the consent of the government?_

"Impressive, huh?" I jumped at Urahara's voice beside my ear. I tried to cover up my frayed nerves by stammering, "Ahh… When will we start the lessons?"

His grin widened. "Eager to get started? Alright, then. We'll begin immediately. But first, we need to change one thing…"

He pointed the end of his cane at me. I caught a glimpse of a skull surrounded by blue flames before he stuck the cane on my forehead. I was thrown backwards and indignantly exclaimed, "Hey!! What was that fo…" My voice died in my throat when I realized I was in Shinigami form. I looked at my body and instinctively felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise. Looking at one's own body isn't natural. At all. It's kinda creepy, if you think about it.

"So, now that you're a Shinigami, let's get started. Yoruichi! Rukia! She's ready!!" I tore my gaze from my body to the two figures stepping out from behind a split boulder in front of me.

The first was a beautiful lady who looked to be in her late twenties, wearing an orange long-sleeved shirt and black pants with a whitish scarf around her neck. She had startling golden eyes, dark skin, and dark purple hair tied into a ponytail. Her slim muscles made her seem almost cat-like. The second was a purple-eyed, raven-haired teenager who was wearing a shihakusho and had a zanpakuto strapped to her waist. I almost immediately recognized her as the Rukia I had seen all those months ago.

I stood there awkwardly for a few moments while the dark-skinned woman looked me up and down, appraising my worth. After a few moments she murmured, "So you're Izumi Iwate."

I swallowed the lump in my throat and croaked out, "Yes, ma'am. You are Yoruichi-sama, right?"

She nodded. "You can just call me Yoruichi. And this-" she pointed to Rukia "-is Rukia Kuchiki. We'll be instructing you for the next… month, I believe." She opened her mouth to say more, but I cut her off, spluttering, "W-w-w-wait, wait!!! An entire month? Of nonstop training? But what about school? I can't just up and leave for a whole month, and then reappear as if nothing happened!!"

Urahara sighed and replied, "Yes, you can. Ichigo's done it multiple times. Besides, the threat of Aizen is much more important than missed math homework." He glanced at my shocked and outraged spluttering before continuing, "You're not going to want to take the extra time out for school, trust me. Time flies when you're having fun!!" He grinned and jumped back up the ladder.

I was about to yell after him when Yoruichi approached me and started to circle me, getting a closer look at my muscle masses. "You've got good arm and leg muscles… not much work to be done there… you need lots of ab work… you seem to be very flexible…" she muttered to herself. After finishing her examination, she stated, "I'm glad we don't have to start from ground zero with your fitness training. In fact, I believe all we have to do is work on your abdominal strength. So, to begin with, do 100 sit ups, then do some stretches for sparring. Hand-to-hand sparring," she added hastily when she saw the surprise on my face. "And we'll start out slow, if you're a complete novice. In the meantime, Rukia, do you want to train by yourself until you're needed?"

Rukia shunpoed to the other side of the training room. I undid the buckle holding my zanpakuto in place and gave it to Yoruichi for safekeeping, and then I went through physical agony. I had never bothered to build up my abdominal muscles like I did with my arm and leg muscles (since abdominal muscles are not needed much for flying), and with the number of sit ups Yoruichi gave me… you can imagine. Pure and utter torture. After struggling painfully through my sit ups, Yoruichi had me do several difficult stretches. By the time the stretches were over, my body was already protesting to movement. Thankfully, Yoruichi let me have a few minutes' break to get water and rest.

Water and rest after only stretches and conditioning. I felt pitiful and pathetic.

After my break, Yoruichi started training me in hand-to-hand combat. She seemed to be an expert in it herself, which made me feel all the more stupid. I obtained several bruises from my feeble attempts at hand-to-hand combat. Despite being a complete and utter novice, I improved much over the time span that Yoruichi and I practiced hand-to-hand (or hakuda). Yoruichi said I was about at the green belt level – that was pretty advanced for someone who was mostly self-taught (since Yoruichi explained the belt system she based my skill level on). (2)

"Alright, stop!" Yoruichi called to me as I jumped at her again.

"Wait, what?" I gasped, bewildered, while trying to stop in the middle of my jump. It didn't work, and I flipped head-over-heels to land painfully at Yoruichi's feet. My face burned as I righted myself, feeling the new splotchy bruise on my right leg.

I looked down, cheeks red from my less-than-stellar entrance, and asked, "Why are we stopping, Yoruichi?"

She grinned and replied, "It's nighttime already. You should get some sleep."

I did a double take. "It's nighttime? _Already?_"

Yoruichi nodded. "Yep. It's really easy to lose track of time down here."

As Yoruichi said these words, all the tension and adrenaline drained out of my body. All I wanted to do was lie down and sleep. I blinked slowly a couple of times before asking, "Where's the bed?" The strength drained out of my legs and I sat down abruptly. Yoruichi let out a bark of laughter before picking me up and shunpo-ing me upstairs. The last thing I remembered was dropping softly onto a comfortable mat.

* * *

(the next day)

I woke up, feeling refreshed and utterly useless. My limbs were a sore stiff mass of black and blue, and they hurt like _hell_. I couldn't move for about an hour after I woke up, when a sleepy-eyed Urahara came in.

"Oh, good. You're up," he yawned. After peering at the nearest limb he saw (which was my right arm), he said hurriedly, "I'll get Rukia to patch you up," and vanished to find Rukia.

I must have dozed off after that, because the next thing I knew Rukia was beside me, healing my bruises and occasional scratch. A light blue-green light surrounded her fingers and felt wonderful when it passed over a particularly nasty bruise. She looked slightly annoyed(,) but carried on her work in silence. After she finished, I found I was well enough to get back to training.

I climbed down to the training room, yawning and working out the kinks in my muscles. My bruises were gone, thanks to Rukia. After a couple of seconds Yoruichi appeared in front of me, startling me slightly. She tossed an apple and a pastry of some sort into my hands before saying briskly, "Eat up. After you're done, we'll begin swordplay, or zanjutsu, immediately."

She tossed my zanpakuto to me. (3) I caught it awkwardly, not wanting to drop the apple and pastry. I ate quickly, not wanting to keep Yoruichi waiting. After finishing, I drew my oversized zanpakuto out of its sheath and faced Yoruichi.

When Yoruichi saw that I was ready, she grabbed the zanpakuto on a nearby boulder and removed it from its sheath. Just when I was readying myself to attack her, Urahara said, "Yoruichi, I would like to take over Izumi-san's training today."

I jumped. I hadn't realized Urahara had returned and was standing next to me.

To my surprise, Yoruichi nodded. I hadn't expected her to give Urahara training rights for the day without a fight. What surprised me even more was the fact Yoruichi tossed the zanpakuto she was holding to Urahara.

"Yoruichi doesn't have her zanpakuto at the moment, so I let her borrow mine," Urahara explained at my bewildered expression.

Urahara guided me to a section of the training room that was heavily pockmarked with craters and large rips. Jagged boulders were scattered randomly throughout, making the area look like a war zone.

"Ready?" Urahara asked playfully. I nodded hesitantly, then braced myself for Urahara's first attack. To my surprise, Urahara didn't attack immediately. Instead, he held his zanpakuto in a peculiar way and intoned, "Awaken, Benihime."

I yelled in shock as the zanpakuto reformed into a larger, flat-ended katana with random ornaments decorating the hilt. I spluttered, "H-how did you do that?!?!"

Urahara grinned and replied, "All zanpakuto come with a unique name. Mine is Benihime, the Crimson Princess. When called, the zanpakuto will reshape itself according to the owner's reiatsu. Your zanpakuto also has a name, which you should learn very soon. Oh, and all you have to do to pass this lesson is to knock off my hat."

It took a little while to recover from the shock of my new discovery about zanpakuto, but soon I was being chased by Hat-n-Clogs all over the training room. I was able to defend myself reasonably well, but I was no match for a seasoned fighter like Urahara. Who knew that the shopkeeper was also the zanjutsu expert?

Duck, parry, slash, run, parry, duck, twist, slash, parry, run. We continued like this for a while, my zanjutsu skills increasing all the time. I had put some tears in Hat-n-Clogs' hat, but I never knocked it off fully. I still wasn't near a match for Urahara. And for some reason, as time wore on, Urahara seemed to become more and more disappointed with my performance.

* * *

(Urahara's POV)

Urahara was disappointed with the young Shinigami in front of him. Sure, she was quickly learning the art of zanjutsu, but she was nowhere near learning the name of her zanpakuto.

_Time to resort to some more drastic measures,_ he thought grimly.

* * *

(Izumi's POV)

Duck, slash, twist, run, dodge, parry, slash. I had held my own against Urahara reasonably well for the last hour. Hours. Who knows how long I'd been down here?

_**Snick.**_

I glanced at my zanpakuto, then at Benihime, then at Urahara, then back at my zanpakuto.

This couldn't be happening. My brain refused to accept the image my eyes were sending it.

The top half of my zanpakuto had been sliced off. Gone. I was now left with half a sword against a maniac with a flat-ended zanpakuto.

_I'm doomed.

* * *

_

Yay!!! I'm finally updating the story!!!! Thank you to all who reviewed!!!!

(1) I have no idea how big Urahara's training room really is, so let's just go by my measurements. If you know otherwise, please tell me in a review.

(2) There are many different orders of belt colors, so this is the order I'm going by: white, yellow, purple, orange, blue, blue with a black stripe, green, green with a black stripe, brown, brown with a black stripe, red, red with a black stripe, black level 1, black level 2, … (it goes like this until black level 10)

(3) Izumi falls asleep before she gets back into her body, and Urahara doesn't bother to put her back in, either.

Update 3/6/10: Many thanks to somebody's world for beta reading this for me.

-HM


	6. Fukai Mori

**Disclaimer**: I do not own +Anima or Bleach.

* * *

Chapter 6—Fukai Mori

"Gyaaaaah!"

I had just nearly been decapitated. Again. How many times had that happened in the past few minutes?

Ever since Urahara decided to slice my zanpakuto in half, I had resorted to flat-out running from the shopkeeper. A novice like me would have no chance of holding off the maniac with only half a sword.

I cast a glance behind me. Urahara was gaining. Crap. I had no choice but to parry with my half-sword and hope for the best.

_**Clang!!**_

Our zanpakuto crashed together. My arms shook with the force of the blow.

"You parried instead of running. I'll give you credit for that. But Benihime can't be held off with that broken thing for long."

_**Snick.**_

Okay, scratch half a sword. I was now holding a quarter of a sword.

After having my zanpakuto reduced to little more than a stump, I fled again. Urahara allowed me a small head start, but otherwise he gave me no leeway. Duck, dodge, run, swivel, dodge.

With no warning, the ground under me gave way, and I fell into a deep hole. After recovering from my long fall, I did a systems check. I didn't feel any broken bones or torn ligaments, but a few ugly bruises were appearing on my arms and I was pretty sure on my back, as well. That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

I sprang to my feet in alarm, expecting Urahara's zanpakuto to come crashing down on my head. When no blow came, I craned my head upward – and gasped.

Urahara's head seemed like a speck at the top of a tall shaft. The area around me was littered with ribbons and some unidentifiable white rock. I must have fallen 20 – no 30, or 40 – feet down. And I was virtually unharmed!!

"Izumi-san, are you alright?" Urahara's voice floated down the shaft.

"I'm alri-" My voice caught in my throat. Something was definitely _not _alright. My left leg, starting at the foot, was turning numb, almost painfully. It was like it had been suddenly thrust in an ice chest and left to freeze. I cast a glance at it before looking away. In the dim light that filtered down the shaft, I could tell my leg was turning snow white. I started coughing. Something cold – and wet – and lumpy – was stuck in my throat. I hacked again. That disgusting _something_ was working its way up my throat. But I never found out if something unsavory came out my mouth, because the last thing I saw was Urahara's confused, worried, and – frightened? – face before my vision flickered and abruptly turned black.

* * *

(Urahara)

Urahara frowned. The ground that Izumi-san stepped on had just crumbled away, leaving a deep pit. Now why was there a deep pit in the training room?

Wait. It couldn't be the pit he used for Ichigo's Shattered Shaft trial. It just couldn't be. He had Ururu fill it back up!

Urahara glanced over the edge of the pit. Yep, this was Kurosaki's Shattered Shaft. Bits of hollow mask and bakudo 99 (in the form of white ribbons and bolts) littered the ground.

"Izumi-san, are you alright?" he called over the edge of the pit to the pale figure below.

"I'm alri-" Izumi-san's voice cut off abruptly as her reiatsu began fluctuating wildly. She started coughing the kind of hoarse cough caused by something unpleasant stuck in one's throat. She turned her head upward and Urahara could see her pale, slowly whitening face and confused eyes before she toppled forward, unconscious.

Had Kurosaki's rampant hollow reiatsu lingered in the shaft? And why had it reacted so violently with Izumi-san?

Izumi-san's reiatsu fluctuated again. Urahara paled when he recognized the signature. No… this – this couldn't be!

* * *

(Shinji)

Shinji's head shot up from the mat in his makeshift bedroom in the dilapidated factory. That reiatsu spike he felt was hauntingly familiar, yet somehow different, making it unidentifiable. Shinji frowned. It was coming from Urahara's direction. It was probably just some weird experiment of his. Shinji dropped back onto the mat. False alarm.

The burst of reiatsu came again. This time Shinji was able to pinpoint and read it accurately. Shinji immediately sprang up from the mat and shunpoed in Urahara's direction.

"Dammit!!"

* * *

(Izumi)

I eventually became aware that I no longer felt cold and shaky. The gunk in my throat was gone, as was the pain from the scratches I had obtained from the green-clad maniac. In fact, I felt alright. Scratch alright, I felt great. Except for the tiny fact that I was exhausted.

Now, where was I and why was I feeling so good?

I shifted slightly. Whatever I was lying on was rough and craggy. And not particularly comfortable. But I could sleep on it –I'd slept on worse, back in Amestris.

"_Get up._"

A voice, warm and definitely female, cut through my sleepy haze. I groaned. Couldn't the voice let me get up (or fall asleep) at my own pace?

"_Get up, Izumi._"

I chose to ignore the voice. Maybe it would leave me alone after awhile.

"_Get up!_"

Now the voice sounded annoyed. It wouldn't leave me alone.

"_**Up!!**_"

Since the voice had no intention of leaving me alone, I cracked open my eyes. They hadn't yet focused, so everything was black and white. I lifted a hand, rubbed the bleariness out of my eyes, and slowly righted myself. The world swam into focus. I gasped.

This couldn't be happening. No way. Once again my brain was short-circuiting from the bizarre images my eyes were sending it.

I had been lying on the thickest branch of the biggest tree I had ever seen. The trunk had to have been fifty or sixty feet in circumference. The branch I had lain on alone was five feet across. The leaves were bigger than dinner plates, and the main vein running through them was as thick around as my arm. Patchy sunlight filtered through the canopy high above and warmed my face, creating dancing shadows on my body.

But that wasn't the most shocking thing about the place I had landed myself in.

I was in the middle of a huge forest. All the trees were supersized, like the one I was on. The menagerie of trees included elm, pine, oak, ash, maple, fir, and many others. The sharp scent of crushed pine needles mingled with the fresh scent of rain. The strange thing was, despite the abundance of flora, there wasn't any fauna to accompany it. Not a single bird chirp, nor stirring of undergrowth from various ground-dwelling animals, nor the hum of countless bugs could be heard. It was dead silent, except for the slight rustle of leaves in the feather-touch light breeze. Then I realized something. I must still be lying down, because the world was tilted sideways.

But that wasn't right. My body was perpendicular to the branch, which meant I was sitting up. I sucked in a sharp breath as the realization dawned on me.

Freaking heck. The gravity here was all screwed up.

Just where was here, anyways?

"_Finally. I was beginning to think you were deaf._"

There was that voice again. Maybe it could tell me where I was. I looked around, trying to locate the source of the voice. I ended up feeling dizzy and lost. If I looked side to side while sitting up here, one would see the ground and then the patchy sky. It left me feeling terribly confused.

This place was so screwed up.

"_Over here._"

This time the voice sounded amused. I whipped my head around and beheld the first fauna I had seen since coming here. My breath caught in my throat.

A gorgeous leopard was sitting on the branch behind me. It was the very picture of deadly beauty. Its shiny, lustrous coat barely hid powerful, lithe muscles. The finely shaped head hid lethally sharp teeth inside a powerful jaw and molten gold eyes with barely veiled murderous intent, suppressed with amusement. Large paws concealed wicked claws. Its tail twitched with amusement.

I stared, mesmerized, for a time. Then, to my surprise, the leopard opened its mouth as if to speak. But leopards can't talk!

"_Hello, little one._"

Obviously I was wrong. Talking leopards did exist. Would wonders never cease? The leopard opened its mouth again, and let out a throaty chuckle.

"_You should have seen the look on your face._"

Okay, I revise my previous statement. Talking, laughing leopards with senses of humor did exist.

"_Little one, will you close your mouth? You look like an idiot with it just hanging open._"

I clamped my mouth shut. I hadn't even realized it had dropped open. And I finally connected the pitch of the voice with the word female. The leopard was a girl. Woman. She-beast.

"_Aren't you going to say anything?_"

I opened my mouth again to speak, but realized my mouth was dry and my throat scratchy. I coughed a couple of times, then croaked, "Where… where am I?" My voice sounded horribly rough.

This probably wasn't the best thing to say, because the leopard's eyes flashed angrily.

"_What do you mean, 'where am I'? This is your inner world, you idiot._"

Now she had a temper. Oh, goody.

I found myself nodding agreeably with her statement, until the meaning of her words sunk in. "What do you mean, 'inner world'?"

"_I mean exactly that, inner world. All Shinigami have one, but very rarely can they access it. Size also reflects potential strength. The fact that these trees are as big as they are means that you have immense power. You just can't use it very effectively yet. Now, any more questions?_"

It hit me that I couldn't keep calling the leopard, 'the leopard' or 'her' or 'she'.

"What's your name?"

"_You must be joking. There's only one person in the world that can talk to me, or even __**know**__ about my existence, and it's you. 'What's your name?' Ha!_"

I frowned. The last thing I needed now was the leopard to develop a sense of sarcasm.

"When I said, 'what's your name', I meant, 'what's your name'. I'd remember meeting a talking leopard. But you're the first one I've come across."

"_You're serious, aren't you? Well, it's to be expected, since this is the first time we've talked face-to-face. Ah, well. My name's _-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l."

I cocked my head to the side. Why couldn't I hear her name?

The leopard's eyes suddenly filled with anger and sadness. She turned her head away, as if slapped. "_I see. How many times must I shriek my name in your ear before you can hear it?_" she spat venomously. I guessed she was the type of person (beast) that used anger to convey, or perhaps cover up, her sadness.

Without warning the leopard stood and padded to stand at the top of the branch. This was confusing. Was the gravity centered on the trees?

The leopard looked back at me, her gaze filled with scorn that I knew concealed heartbreaking sadness. Now that I could see her flank, I noticed there were two almost unnoticeable knobby projections on her shoulders. The perfect picture of beauty was marred by the lumpy distortions. I felt a small, inexplicable surge of anger and pity for the leopard.

But suddenly, the leopard's deformity was the least of my problems.

"_Surprising how you can sit there so calmly,_" the leopard said, her voice cold, distant, uncaring; even though her eyes burned brightly with emotion.

"Huh?" I was confused. If the gravity was centered on the trees, why shouldn't I be sitting calmly?

It suddenly struck me how very far away the ground was.

I scrambled to get to the top of the branch, but it was too late. The gravity had already shifted. I was falling from about one hundred feet up. My shihakusho was effectively blocking my wings, making my +Anima useless. (1) There was no way I could survive this.

Of course, that was the thought of the 10% of my brain that was still thinking rationally. The other 90% was screaming, "HOLY S***, I'M FALLING!!!!!!!!!"

I let out a shriek of terror. Since I couldn't fly, I was doomed.

"_Good, good, if you're screaming, you still have time to make things right._"

"Wait, what?" I gasped, after regaining a scrap of composure. The leopard had jumped off the branch and was now falling with me, albeit a bit more gracefully than me. At least she wasn't a tangle a flailing limbs.

"_Look around._"

I glanced at the surrounding trees. To my surprise, they were wilting and the now-brown leaves were cascading around me. The branches looked as if they were being ground to dust by some giant invisible hand. The forest was disintegrating before my eyes.

"What the hell?" I murmured, confused. For a split second I forgot I was falling as I pondered the implications of the disintegration. Was this occurrence a natural thing?

"_You need to stop the disintegration._" The quiet voice sounded next to me.

"How? And why?"

"_If you don't stop the disintegration, you'll turn into a hollow. I'll explain why this is happening in the first place later. And one of the leaves falling around you contains your __**real**__ Shinigami power. You'll have to find it before the disintegration is complete. I'll explain more about __**that **__later, too._"

"O…kay?"

I suddenly realized I would crash into the ground in a few seconds. I squeezed my eyes shut and braced for impact. Hopefully I would survive to maybe find that one leaf.

Who was I kidding? With two broken – no, shattered – legs and in shock, there was no way I could find one small leaf in this gigantic forest.

I found myself moments from impact after these last few thoughts. I squeezed my eyelids together tighter.

Surprisingly, I didn't crash into unyielding ground. The ground buckled under my weight and I found myself sinking in some cold, unidentifiable liquid. _Below _the ground. And I was breathing normally. How much wackier could this place get?

I noticed the leaves were sinking along with me. Maybe there was some hope after all.

Again, who was I kidding? There had to be thousands of leaves on one tree, and thousands of trees in the forest. There was no way I could find the one leaf that contained my "real Shinigami power".

What did that mean, anyway?

"_Concentrate, little one!_" the leopard reminded me.

Well, maybe I could find that leaf. If only one had Shinigami power, then it would stand to reason that only one would have a Shinigami aura. Or, as Urahara said, reiatsu.

I closed my eyes and lapsed into a meditative mode, feeling out the different auras – reiatsu – of the leaves. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, I felt a hint of Shinigami. Its signal came from above me and slightly to the left.

I opened my eyes in preparation to swim to the leaf. My eyes bulged.

White ribbons extended from the leaves, groping around my body and entangling me. Two thoughts popped into my head.

One, the ribbons would slow my progress to the leaf in question.

Two, when I got out of this nightmare, I would have extensive tests taken to ensure I was not going clinically insane.

Back to the present.

Maybe, if I could find the ribbon connected to the leaf with Shinigami reiatsu, I could get to said leaf much quicker. I began sifting through the ribbons to find one with traces of Shinigami on it.

Suddenly, three differently colored ribbons wound their way through the mass of white ribbons to me. One was jet black, another was blood red, and the last was a deep cerulean blue with gold trimming. I caught hold of the three ribbons and began examining them for Shinigami aura. The black ribbon most definitely reeked of hollow. I shuddered and dropped it, where it was instantly lost in the mass of white. The red ribbon exuded a Shinigami's aura. I began pulling the ribbon and hopefully at its end was the leaf I needed. Before dropping the blue ribbon, I attempted to place the aura – no, reiatsu – it was emitting. I couldn't identify it, but it seemed extremely familiar…

"_Little one, the leaf!_" the leopard reminded me none-too-gently.

I reluctantly let go of the cerulean ribbon and concentrated on obtaining the leaf with my Shinigami power. Just how long was this ribbon, anyway?!

I finally got to the end of the ribbon. The leaf it was attached to looked completely unremarkable, exactly like all the other leaves. Except, of course, for the fact that the blood red ribbon was attached to it.

"Now what?" I murmured.

"_Congrats on finding it. Now rip the leaf in half to access its central vein,_" the leopard informed me.

I did as I was told and peered into the vein.

What the hell?...

Okay, this settled it. I was going insane.

The handle of a zanpakuto – my zanpakuto – was sticking from the hollow of the leaf's central vein. I looked between it and the leopard (I really needed to learn her name) in confusion.

"_Hurry, you idiot! It's disintegrating!_"

The leopard's words were true. Slight tremors were running through the liquid, and very few of the trees still had branches.

"_Pull me out, now!!_" Now the leopard's voice was laced with barely concealed panic.

'Pull me out'? What did that mean?

The answer struck like lightning.

"You're not… my zanpakuto… are you?"

"_Pull the bloody sword out!!!_"

I grasped my zanpakuto's hilt firmly and pulled, hard. It slid from the vein smoothly and I found myself being thrust into darkness again. My last conscious thought was, _if that was my zanpakuto, then learning her name shouldn't be too hard, right?

* * *

_

For those of you who are wondering, Fukai Mori means "Deep Forest" in Japanese.

Ahh, man. I wanted to make this chapter as original as possible, but I ended up almost duplicating Ichigo's own preliminary training. There are some differences, but very few… Please don't flame me!!

I know you're probably wondering, "Izumi didn't lose her Shinigami powers. Why is she going through the hollow transformation?" That will be explained in the next chapter. Or two.

(1) A shihakusho has an inner and outer kimono. And the bindings are rather difficult to undo. Especially if you're falling from 100 feet up.

Update 3/6/10: Thank somebody's world for going through this and weeding out all of the mistakes.

-HM


	7. Home is Where the Heart is

**Disclaimer**: I do not own +Anima or Bleach.

* * *

Chapter 7 – Home Is Where the Heart Is

Urahara stood at the edge of the pit. Waves of clashing Shinigami and hollow reiatsu laced with another type of unidentifiable reiatsu washed over him, almost forcing him away from the edge of the gaping hole. Urahara couldn't see Izumi-san, since a strong wind produced by the clashing reiatsu caused dust and debris to fly around, effectively hiding Izumi-san from view.

All of a sudden, a bright cerulean blob shot from the pit. It rebounded off the walls and ceiling before crashing down behind a large outcrop of rock. Urahara hurried towards the outcrop. Very hopefully he'd come face-to-face with Izumi-san and not a hollow.

The confusing thing was, why had Izumi-san reacted so violently to the hollow reiatsu? And what was that unidentifiable reiatsu Izumi-san was emitting?

* * *

(Izumi)

I came to blearily. Everything I saw was blurred, as if the world had suddenly become a watercolor painting. All my scratches and bruises had returned, but the pain was oddly numb. Something heavy and sticky clung to my face, and there was an awful taste in my mouth. My zanpakuto lay on the ground beside me, still broken. I pried whatever was stuck on my face off. It felt like partially-dried cement. I put it into my shihakusho and leaned against a rock wall. All I wanted to do was sleep. My eyelids crashed shut.

"Izumi-san!" Urahara's voice sounded panicky. I responded with a soft groan. I heard Urahara's footsteps approaching; it sounded like he was running. I cracked open my eyes. The world now looked somewhat less like little splashes of paint and more like twisted shapes of color. I saw Urahara emerge from behind the rock I was slumped against. I heard Urahara sigh with relief right before I surrendered to the blackness.

* * *

(Urahara)

Urahara cautiously peered around the boulder. No hollow. Izumi-san was slumped against the boulder, barely conscious. Good: her reiatsu was completely hollow-free. Bad: her reiatsu was almost nonexistent. This was hardly surprising, as Izumi-san must have instinctively raised her reiatsu to maximum to combat the hollow reiatsu assaulting her, hence the mini-storm.

Urahara examined Izumi-san. She had sustained no new external injuries, but she would need a day's rest to recover her reiatsu. Urahara glanced at Izumi-san again. Her eyes were thin, unfocused slits. Maybe Izumi-san would need several days' rest to recover.

Izumi-san shifted slightly as her eyes closed. Urahara picked up her slight, limp body and shunpoed up to the guest room in which she was staying. In the flickering candlelight, Urahara noticed that Izumi-san was unusually pale, nearly snow-white. It wasn't surprising, considering the massive strain she had taken.

Urahara frowned confusedly. While the amount of clashing reiatsu was impressive, it shouldn't have been enough to send Izumi-san into unconsciousness. Kurosaki-san had been able to sustain consciousness under greater reiatsu and injuries. Why was Izumi-san so fragile? Had she received inadequate nourishing when she was young? Or perhaps her body was not used to the strain of the reiatsu she harbored? Her performance certainly hadn't lived up to the expectations he had created, judging from her abnormally large muscles. But shouldn't she be adjusted to the pressure? Aren't those with abnormal reiatsu levels born with that amount of reiatsu and able to cope with the slow increase of reiatsu as it matured, developed, and was honed? Izumi-san had been able to see hollows and Shinigami before she had known what they were, suggesting she had been born with an unnatural level of reiatsu. But only those who had gained their spiritual powers through the absorption of reiatsu emitted from a powerful Shinigami (…like one Substitute Shinigami) had difficulty sustaining, controlling, and even activating those powers. Not to mention they occasionally had troubles coping under their own heightened reiatsu. Izumi-san was having those difficulties.

Urahara rubbed his temples and covered Izumi-san with the sheets he had provided. Izumi-san was an enigma he was just itching to unravel.

Abruptly, Urahara's mind turned to a possibility he hadn't thought of in days. Was Izumi-san the organism that had crossed from another dimension? She certainly had enough odd things about her that singled her out from normal humans…

* * *

(Yoruichi)

I flew over the tops of buildings, desperately attempting to return to Kisuke's place as fast as possible. I had felt the surge of hollow reiatsu intermingled with Izumi-chan's reiatsu only seconds before and immediately took off toward my temporary home. If Kisuke had harmed a hair on my pupil's head…

I noticed a flicker of movement in the corner of my eye. I shifted my center of gravity and stuck my foot out, tripping whoever was shunpo-ing to Kisuke's. No unexpected visitors would be going to Kisuke's tonight.

The person I had tripped fell without grace. He had an impressive knowledge of words society never uses in a formal setting. The voice was deep, so that meant he was male.

Instincts from my days as the 2nd squad's captain and Commander of the punishment division kicked in. I grabbed the man's wrists and crossed them behind his back, forcing him to bend over. I then planted my knee in his back, effectively immobilizing him.

"What the hell?!" the man hissed through gritted teeth. It occurred to me that this man's voice sounded vaguely familiar. Maybe I had overheard a conversation he had been a part of while I roamed the town in cat form.

"Let me go!" The man strained against my hands and knee. I was slightly surprised. He was stronger than he looked. But… it was to be expected, since shunpo is a technique only Shinigami can use. And even in a gigai, Shinigami are physically stronger than humans.

"Let me go!" the man repeated. "I have urgent business at the Urahara Shoten!! Let me GO!!"

I ignored his plea and dug my knee further into his back. "Who are you, why are you here, and what business do you have at the Urahara Shoten?"

The man gasped. "Yoruichi?"

I stiffened at the sound of my name. I removed my knee from the man's back and whirled him around to face me, while still holding his hands behind his back. I gasped as his face came into view. It was Hirako Shinji!

I immediately set Shinji free. "Sorry, Shinji. I didn't know it was you."

Shinji glared at me. "Obviously."

I ignored to angry sarcasm in his voice. "Why are you going to Kisuke's? And why couldn't I sense your reiatsu?"

"Urahara did a great job of creating a reiatsu-blocking gigai. As for **why **I'm heading to Urahara's, it's probably the same reason as you."

I eyed him gravely. He obviously felt the burst of intermingling Shinigami and hollow reiatsu. It would have dredged up terrible memories of _that _particular incident that took place a century ago.

"Come on," I said roughly, spinning Shinji around to face Kisuke's direction. "I want to find out what happened to my pupil." Without further ado, I sped towards the Urahara Shoten, Shinji struggling to keep up behind me.

* * *

(Urahara)

Urahara stepped outside the Urahara Shoten. He took several deep breaths to calm his pounding heart. Izumi-san was safe and relatively unharmed. All she needed was sleep. There were no other immediate reasons to panic.

A pair of feet crashed into Urahara's face, smashing it in. Urahara allowed himself to fall backwards, landing gracelessly on his back. Urahara stood up slowly, clutching his aching nose. His assailant stood about ten feet from the storefront, his/her figure covered in shadows. Urahara blinked owlishly. There was only one person in the world (both in the World of the Living and Soul Society) who had the skill to spring a surprise attack that skillfully or stealthily.

"Why, hello, Yoruichi. What brings you to my humble abode earlier than schedule?"

"Spare me the small talk, Kisuke. You know why I'm here. What happened to Izumi-chan?"

"She's just fine. She's fast asleep in her room. Go see her if you like." Urahara's hat stirred in the breeze that was whipped up as Yoruichi sped past him. On her way by, she said, "I'm not the only one here to see you."

Another figure stepped out of the shadows. Urahara blinked in surprise as he recognized Shinji.

* * *

(Yoruichi)

I shunpoed into Izumi-chan's room, breathing a small sigh of relief when I saw my pupil outwardly unharmed. I frowned when I noticed her near-nonexistent reiatsu. Had the strain of the conflicting reiatsu been too hard on her body?

I soon noticed other signs that Izumi-chan was not 100% okay. She looked abnormally pale and was very slightly trembling. I put my hand on her forehead. It was slightly sticky, damp from sweat, and very, very cold. I next felt her wrist, stomach, and calf. All were sweaty and cold, the left calf especially so.

Suddenly Izumi-chan began thrashing about, mouth open in a silent scream of terror. Her eyeballs rolled wildly in her head, seen briefly through fluttering eyelids. Izumi-chan was having a terrible nightmare or a seizure, perhaps created from trauma from the clashing reiatsu. I pinned her down to prevent her from injuring herself. I called her name, trying to revive her, or at least lessen her thrashing. She only strained harder against me, unconsciously trying to raise her reiatsu to break my hold. Since she had so thoroughly drained her reiatsu resources, attempting to tap into her power now was extremely dangerous. Izumi-chan might permanently damage or even destroy her Hakusui and/or Saketsu (1). Restraining her with bakudo was out of the question, since Izumi-chan would simply try harder to break the bonds. I began to panic slightly. If Izumi-chan overexerted herself, she might severely damage her body and/or forever cripple her power.

"KISUKE!" I screeched. I may know more than the average Shinigami about mechanical objects and Vizards/Arrancar because of my involvement with Kisuke, but I had no idea how to prevent Izumi-chan from hurting herself. Hurting people was my specialty, not preventing them from hurting themselves.

Footsteps pounded in the hallway while Izumi-chan convulsed again. I tried to suppress my growing anxiety. Izumi-chan was going to be okay. She just had to be.

* * *

(Izumi)

Black. There was nothing but black. Not the nighttime dark, when there's a slight glow from the stars, moon, and manmade lights, but absolute darkness. I couldn't see a thing. I shivered. Wherever I was, it was very cold. If I could actually see, then my breath was probably producing little clouds of mist.

The temperature began dropping. I wished I had something warmer on. It was just so **cold**…

I noticed (that) as the temperature dropped that I was slowly being put under a… pressure… of some kind. At first it was hardly noticeable, but I slowly became more uncomfortable. Soon, I was having difficulty breathing. I began to panic. I had to get away or I would be crushed. I began to thrash around, attempting to get away from the stifling presence. The pressure quickly centered around my arms and legs, effectively immobilizing me. I screamed, but I was sure no one could hear me. As the pressure on me increased, I noticed a malicious presence causing my pain. I had a sudden surge of animalistic instincts, and the world burst into color.

Red. All I could see was the crimson color of blood.

Multitudes of images flashed before my eyes. All of them ended with the color red from whoever was being killed. I thought I saw a Shinigami, once or twice. A heavy metallic scent hit my nose.

I only comprehended what I saw later. Right then, nothing would have made me happier than to flee from the terrible bloodshed in front of me. But I couldn't move. I was completely paralyzed.

The images began flashing by faster and faster. At one point they were almost slowed to a stop by two familiar, benevolent presences. But just as their help was making a large impact on the malicious presence, it retaliated stronger than ever, pushing the benevolent presences away. As the pictures spun by faster and faster, the heavy metallic scent grew stronger. I realized it was the scent of blood.

Just as the sensory overload was about to become too much, I felt soft fur brush against my fingers. A soft, soothing voice called my name.

"_**Izumi! Izumi, wake up!!!**_"

* * *

(Yoruichi)

Kisuke and Shinji burst into the room. Kisuke quickly took in Izumi-chan's condition and immediately hastened to my side.

"Yoruichi, pin down Izumi-san's legs. Shinji, you hold her other arm." Kisuke himself grabbed Izumi-chan's arm. Shinji almost protested. The key word here is 'almost'. I sent him a death glare and all protestation died in his throat. Shinji grabbed Izumi-chan's right arm. Izumi struggled against her restraints, but we held her fast.

"Bloody hell, she's strong," Shinji muttered.

After a few minutes of futile attempts to awaken my pupil, Kisuke looked at me and said, "Yoruichi, she's not responding to anything we say or do. I'm afraid if she continues to try to invoke her reiatsu, she'll severely damage herself. We need to pump our reiatsu into her so that danger is greatly reduced. Shinji, please abstain from transmitting your reiatsu into her. I don't want any of your stay hollow reiatsu to find its way into her system."

Shinji nodded. I barely noticed his movement out of the corner of my eye. I was too busy concentrating on focusing my reiatsu into Izumi-chan's body. It was just like kido, except this was infinitely more dangerous, both to the transmitter and the receiver. Too much reiatsu at one time and what little reiatsu Izumi-chan had would force mine out of her system. Violently. Very violently. Too little and it wouldn't help Izumi-chan at all; it would just flow into her body on one end and flow out at the other. But neither Kisuke nor I put too much or too little reiatsu into her system; our efforts soon paid off. Izumi-chan's wild bucking had just about ceased, and now she was jerking around slightly. Kisuke and I stopped transmitted out reiatsu into Izumi-chan.

Immediately after we ceased transmitting reiatsu, Izumi-chan began bucking wildly again. I glanced at Urahara for permission to begin transmitting more reiatsu. Kisuke shook his head at my unstated request.

"If we transmit any more reiatsu, we might overwhelm what little reiatsu she still has, which will cause a complete shutdown of the system. She'll be like a normal konpaku, except with a useless Soul Chain and Soul Sleeve. All we can do now is wait for Izumi-chan to conquer this nightmare on her own."

I nodded, desperately wishing I could do something more than just sit around and wait.

Suddenly, Izumi-chan's shoulders began glowing with a cerulean blue light. I stared with surprise, Shinji looked incredulous, and Kisuke looked bewildered. As the light glowed brighter and brighter, I noticed Izumi-chan's reiatsu rising. But it wasn't in a dangerous way; no, Izumi was using her reiatsu as effectively as when she was at full strength. But I couldn't recognize the reiatsu for the life of me.

Shinji and Kisuke exchanged a look. I knew they were plotting something I wouldn't approve of. Simultaneously, they reached up with their free hands and ripped Izumi-chan's black outer kimono from her frame. I swiveled my torso into a pushup position and lashed out at the former captains with both legs. I know they meant well, since they wanted to find out what was glowing under Izumi-chan's kimono, but she didn't need a couple of men to personally find out up-close what was under her kimono.

Anyways, said former captains immediately let go of Izumi-chan's inner white kimono and clutched their aching noses.

"What was that for?!" they both cried indignantly.

"I will check what's glowing, not you. Izumi-chan doesn't need guys like you undressing her, even if it's for a good reason!" I snapped. Kisuke tried to look as innocent as possible while Shinji just glared at me.

"Out!" I commanded, pointing to the door. "Izumi-chan's no longer thrashing about, so your services and presences are no longer required." This was a true statement. Izumi-chan was now only twitching slightly. Shinji's glare intensified and Kisuke pouted sadly, but both followed my instructions. "And no peeking!" I yelled after I heard the door not quite close. I knew Kisuke and Shinji were curious about the mysterious light from under Izumi-chan's shihakusho, but I wanted my student to retain her dignity.

After hearing the door close completely, I gently removed Izumi-chan's inner kimono. The cerulean light still shined brightly as the garment was pulled from Izumi-chan's shoulders. I caught my breath.

The light originated from matching tattoos on Izumi-chan's shoulders. The tattoos were fairly simple, yet beautiful. They were also unlike anything I had ever seen.

The largest shape was a simple spiral, looking somewhat like a G without the edges. Four scale-like shapes (or were they leopard spots?) of varying sizes faced outward from the spiral, towards Izumi-chan's arms. Four feather-shaped lines of varying heights were located near the top of the spiral.

The cerulean light began to constantly intensify until I was forced to look away. Just as abruptly as the light brightened, it faded away without a trace.

* * *

(Izumi)

I sluggishly opened my eyes and blinked. Once again, my world had become a kaleidoscope of color. I groaned and rubbed my eyes. At least I had regained the ability to move.

I blinked in annoyance. My eyesight was still fuzzy, even after my attempt to clear it. It _was _clearing, but I still couldn't see my surroundings. I closed my eyes, intending to use my other senses to discover where the heck I was.

It felt… cool, like I was in the shade of a tree or in a room with the light turned off. I certainly wasn't in a room, since I could feel soft grass underneath my fingertips. The air smelled clean, like I was in deep wilderness. Believe me, I can tell the difference between city air and country air. One of the things that shocked me most when I arrived in Karakura town was the dirty quality of the air. Anyways, the air smelled clean and… slightly salty? A soft breeze rustled my hair and… was that the sound of crashing waves I heard?

I reopened my eyes and sat up. My eyesight still wasn't the clearest, but I could now see some of my surroundings. I was lying under a large oak tree on lush green grass. The tree was located on a cliff overlooking the sea. Now how did I get here?

I blinked my eyes a couple more times. My eyesight suddenly cleared, and the world came into sharp focus. I gasped and my heart gave a great thud.

I was back in Astaria!! The outline of the cliffs, the arrangement of the trees, and even the flowers dotting the grass were so familiar. I whirled around. Yep, there was my old cottage home, mushrooms on the windowsills and all.

Why was I back here? Was Karakura Town just a dream? Were the hollows, Kisuke Urahara, even the old Shinigami just a figment of my imagination? But why was I under the old oak? Did the mob beat me into unconsciousness and leave me in the elements to die?

But I suddenly noticed something. Even though I was 100% certain that this was Astaria, it seemed… off. Just like that forest: all flora and no fauna (except for the leopard). The colors were too vibrant as well; the contrast of the earth, sky, and sea was too pronounced. The flowers were too brightly colored, the grass was too soft to the touch, and the sea wind smelled way too salty. What was going on?

"_**Hello, Izumi-chan,**_" a voice said behind me. I whirled around. Sure enough, there was the leopard. She approached me cautiously, as if unsure I was actually there. As she drew closer, I noticed that she looked different from before. Her deep golden coat had become several shades lighter, and her eyes were cerulean blue instead of molten gold. There was a black symbol on her forehead directly between her eyes. I couldn't make it out from this distance.

"_**So, you finally made it here,**_" the leopard said, padding closer.

"Can you please tell me your name? Or at the very least, tell me where 'here' is?"

"_**First off, I don't have a name,**_" the leopard said, humor clear in her voice. Seeing my flabbergasted expression, she added, "_**You can name me later. I'm not like zanpakuto, who already have names, or hollows, who neither have names nor want them.**_"

"So you're not the leopard I saw in that forest?"

"_**That's correct. That leopard was your zanpakuto.**_"

"If you're not my zanpakuto, then who are you?" I queried.

"_**You haven't guessed?**_" The leopard gave a throaty chuckle. "_**I'm your +Anima.**_"

I blinked in shock, but somehow I wasn't too surprised. The leopard made perfect sense. She couldn't be my zanpakuto, since they were so physically different from each other, but she didn't radiate(d) the hatred and bloodlust of a hollow, either. Now that the leopard was standing right in front of me, I could tell what the tattoo on her forehead was. It was the +Anima marking on my right shoulder.

Ignoring my surprise, the leopard continued. "_**As for **_**where **_**we are, we are inside the portion of your heart that still longs to be in Astaria, your old home.**_"

After recovering from my second major shock in so many minutes, I choked out, "So I'm still in Karakura Town?"

To my relief, the leopard nodded. "_**And now you need to return to the land of the living.**_"

"Wait, what?" Before I could react, the +Anima marking on the leopard's forehead began glowing bright blue. I thought, _Not again!_ as I once again was thrust into unconsciousness.

* * *

Crud... Has it really been almost a year since I last updated?... I sincerely apologize to those who have stuck with me for all of this time. I still can't believe how much time has passed...

I thank somebody's world from the bottom of my heart for beta reading this story. She's helped with the flow immensely, so if you go back a reread this fic, hopefully you'll notice a difference.

(1) Hakusui = Soul Chain; Saketsu = Soul Sleeve

-HM


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